February 2010

Lately I have reading and buying and downloading lots of crafty e-books. Not only do they provide instant gratification – you buy them and download them and you can read them almost straight away – but mostly they are published independently and so you know you are helping out a fellow indie crafter (this is not always the case but is for the 3 I am going to be discussing today). If you read problogger occasionally, you will know that they are a huge proponent of e-books as a way to make money for blogs – move over advertising – move in e-books.

There are lots of sellers selling e-patterns on etsy for just a few bucks a piece, they seem pretty cheap on the surface for all the hard work that goes into making them – but a few bucks here and there eventually adds up. Some e-books I have come across (and purchased) seem a little expensive – often more expensive than buying a brand new book or a magazine – so value for money is not always the purpose here – its about more than the dollar figure – sometimes you are getting something not available elsewhere – the author has seen a niche and taken it – and often you buy it because you want it straight away – its the instant gratification thing!

I was doing some research recently trying to find out some specific information on quilting history and kept coming across references to a certain e-newsletter that was published a few years ago – I was screaming at myself how I could find a copy of this particular e-newsletter, when going to the authors blog I saw that she had gathered all these newsletters into one e-book and you could purchase – yay – if you are into quilt history – have an old quilt that you want to know more about – then I suggest you check out Barbara Brackman’s Clues in the Calico e-book.

While I was researching quilt and fabric I came across another e-book, how to become a fabric designer – a topic I have been curious about for a while, but have been unsatisfied in the lack of information available – it seems to one of those ‘insider only’ topics – Lizzy House has written an e-book How to enter the world of textile design, giving an insiders perspective on designing fabric – lots of good practical advice.

Sister Diane has become a bit of an e-book publisher and is working with other indie designers to help them publish e-how-to-books. One I was recently sent to review was Kristin Roach (of Craft Leftovers), Card. Paper. Ribbon – where she gives ideas and tutes on what to do with your Christmas leftover packaging. The best part of the book for me was the extremely detailed how-to make your own paper (I know that this is not new), but she also included a really good how-to make the wooden mesh frame as well – so you don’t need to go out and buy a paper making kit. good one.

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